NEW GLASGOW, N.S.
There’s an air of optimism in the job market in Pictou County these days and it can be felt at the Nova Scotia Works Employment Services Centre in New Glasgow where staff do their best to match up people looking for jobs with companies looking to hire.
“It’s a different environment than what we worked in 10 years ago,” says Amanda White, executive director of the site.
The recent announcement that Michelin will be hiring 150 new people as well as the addition of jobs in recent years at places like Web.com and most recently the announcement that the liquid natural gas project is going ahead in Goldboro, Guysborough County have all created a positive situation for job seekers throughout the northern region of Nova Scotia.
On Thursday, Nov. 1 the New Glasgow centre which is also referred to as Career Connections held an open house to highlight some of the services they offer.
“We help people with resumes, job searching, career planning, that sort of thing. If you’re looking to find work or wondering what kind of career you want to have, we have people that can sit down with you,” White said.
They also have a resource centre with computers, faxes and printers that people can use to apply for jobs or do up a resume.
Another service they provide is keeping an up to date Facebook page where they post new job ads that come in. They now have over 7,000 people who follow the page. It’s become a popular way for people to browse jobs.
At the centre they also work as a middle man for employers. For instance, they currently have applications for the recent Michelin jobs available at their office and also will be accepting completed applications to then pass on to Michelin.
Heather MacIsaac is an employer engagement specialist for the site and works directly with area businesses and said they’ve had a steady stream of job postings lately.
“There’s not a lot of turnover. It just seems to be job creation.”
What’s great is that many employers are also now doing training for people, she said. What employers are looking for is a good work ethic.
“They want people to show up and show that reliability that they’re going to show up each day.”
White said another program they’ve got on the go now is the placement of a student focused career practitioner a couple days a week at North Nova Education Centre. The goal is to engage young people early and help direct them on a career path that interests them.
“It used to be that you didn’t really think about a career when you were in high school, but now you really do need to be thinking about where you’re interests lie and getting exposed to different things, because there are so many things you don’t know about,” White said.
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